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Oron #3
Oron: Mosutha's Magic
YOU HAVE AN ENEMY, MOSUTHA!
Intrigued, the magus commanded the voice of the smoke "Tell me further, Spirit of Hell, who is this enemy?"
"He is the Blood of the Sword. He is a hero, born of the line of the First Hero. He is a wolf in the skin of a man; he is a god wrapped in human flesh. "
"Tell me his name."
The smoke demon began to dissolve, then the barbaric sorcerer hurled more blood onthe grate. "He is the son of the Aksakin, and he is called Oron!"
"It cannot be!" Mosutha went cold to his bowels. "Where is he now? How will I know of him?"
"You will know him when you face his sword, sorcerer. He hunts you, magician. But he can die. He will die!"
"Then I shall slay him. I shall use mysorcery and I shall slay this Wolf. I shall smith ORON."
Intrigued, the magus commanded the voice of the smoke "Tell me further, Spirit of Hell, who is this enemy?"
"He is the Blood of the Sword. He is a hero, born of the line of the First Hero. He is a wolf in the skin of a man; he is a god wrapped in human flesh. "
"Tell me his name."
The smoke demon began to dissolve, then the barbaric sorcerer hurled more blood onthe grate. "He is the son of the Aksakin, and he is called Oron!"
"It cannot be!" Mosutha went cold to his bowels. "Where is he now? How will I know of him?"
"You will know him when you face his sword, sorcerer. He hunts you, magician. But he can die. He will die!"
"Then I shall slay him. I shall use mysorcery and I shall slay this Wolf. I shall smith ORON."
- GenresFantasySword and Sorcery
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1982
41 people want to read
About the author
David C. Smith
112 books44 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 16, 2021
This is a sword and sorcery masterpiece. It reminds me of Herman Hesse's *Siddhartha* in its narrative unity and focused elemental theme: a young man is thrown into a bloody and brutal world and must establish balance and harmony through violent force. The quote, "I am no one. I am Oron," is deep with philosophical significance, really a mystery worth thinking more about: how can a person be "no one" but also "be" themselves? This novel explores this ancient spritual idea and does in a lively, bloody, action-oriented way. Villages are burned, swords clang, sorcerers summon demons, the dead speak, and contrasted against all these spectacles is the quiet crusade of the protagonist to consumate his humanity through pure love for his mate. It is almost ludicrous that this depth of philosophical reflection is embedded in the third volume of a sword and sorcery series. In fact, the sword and sorcery spectacle of barbarians, sorcerers, evil magic, and mayhem is a perfect frame for treating this idea. It recalls the sublime landscape paintings of Thomas Cole. Cole paints grandiose vistas of infinite nature and then places one or two tiny humans in them to bring into clearer focus their all-too-human and finite human situation. Something like that is done here by embedding an elemental human crusade to save a loved one within a sublime world of demons and magic, of sword and sorcery. You do not have to had read the first novel, *Oron,* or the second in the saga, *The Sorcerer's Shadow.* This is an autonomous work.
August 17, 2022
Youth. Tribe. Possible destiny. Future spouse but family conflict and transgression. Invasion from outside that makes his shame irrelevant. Evil wizard is weird and has bad plans.
This rewinds Oron to his start as a member of a vaguely Conanesque tribe member with hunter-gatherer economy and swords for some reason, and proceeds to show why he is so damaged. The setup is an ill fit to Smith's talents: moments of weird violence and magic lash out at the reader amongst long scenes of relative mundanity and deliberately simplified dialog. All the more because of meanderings into philosophy and thought that go nowhere and aren't interesting. If you wish to show Oron's complexity, let him explain why he took up with a woman while attempting to rescue his childhood sweetheart and promised mate from the wizard.
It's Mosutha himself that really wants to steal the show: evil wizard with incomprehensibly evil plan who has a soft spot for his lover who he rescued for reasons but Oron's girlfriend reminds him of her but is ultimately disappointed. And he has a tendency to kill or betray the help.
This rewinds Oron to his start as a member of a vaguely Conanesque tribe member with hunter-gatherer economy and swords for some reason, and proceeds to show why he is so damaged. The setup is an ill fit to Smith's talents: moments of weird violence and magic lash out at the reader amongst long scenes of relative mundanity and deliberately simplified dialog. All the more because of meanderings into philosophy and thought that go nowhere and aren't interesting. If you wish to show Oron's complexity, let him explain why he took up with a woman while attempting to rescue his childhood sweetheart and promised mate from the wizard.
It's Mosutha himself that really wants to steal the show: evil wizard with incomprehensibly evil plan who has a soft spot for his lover who he rescued for reasons but Oron's girlfriend reminds him of her but is ultimately disappointed. And he has a tendency to kill or betray the help.
July 28, 2010
The Oron books by Smith are really good. One of the heroes that is about the closest to the way Howard wrote his heroic fantasy characters.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews